Machines for making board roads



dul zs, 1970 T. A. CAPERTON 3,521,769

MACHINES FOR MAKING BOARD ROADS Filed Nov. 15, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJ.

INVENTOI Troy A. Cnperion ATTORNEK 5 July 28, 1970 T. A. CAPERTON 3,521,7E9

MACHINES FOR MAKING BOARD ROADS Filed Nov. 15, 1968 2 SheetsSheet .4

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ATTORN 5Y5 United States Patent Office 3,521,769 MACHINES FOR MAKING BOARD ROADS Troy A. Caperton, 327 Julia St., Thibodaux, La. 70806 Filed Nov. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 776,215 Int. Cl. B60f N38 US. Cl. 21483.36 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The machine of this disclosure is directed to a vehicle which receives bundles of boards of the type 3" x 8" x 14' for building board roads through marsh preparatory to establishing an oil well drilling rig. The machine is independently self-propelled and has a storage area for board bundles, a transfer and metering area and finally a board distribution area where workmen may pic-k up the boards in metered quantities and lay them. The prime mover may be either a diesel or gasoline engine which drives a hydraulic system which in turn controls all operations of the machine.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle which has a board bundle receiving zone capable of receiving :and holding a multiplicity of board ibundles, moving boards from the receiving zone and transferring them to a distribution area where workmen may pick them up and place them upon a plastic sheet which has been previously lain upon the marsh or soft ground area in order to provide support for the heavy equipment necessarily attendant to bringing in oil well drilling equipment.

Another object of the invention in addition to the above is to provide a vehicle which may be maneuverable and the speed of which may be varied from zero m.p.h. to 30 m.p.h. to accelerate slowly, stop quickly and have a reasonable over the ground speed for moving it from site to site as well as being compact enough to permit it being driven over the highway without having to be dismantled.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a vehicle constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal view taken along the main axis of the machine showing the board transfer and metering means.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the hydraulic drive for the board transfer and metering means.

FIG. 5 is a hydraulic schematic view of the machine of FIGS. 1 through 4 showing all systems.

Referring now to the drawings, designates a vehicle frame having front wheels 11 and rear wheels 12. The front wheels 11 are mounted to be turned to guide the vehicle under the control of a hydraulic steering cylinder and ram 13 controlled by a valve 14. Both sets of wheels 11 and 12 are driven through a differential 15 which receives its power from a transfer case 16, driven through a transmission 17 which receives its drive power from a hydraulic motor 18. The prime mover 19 may be either a gasoline or diesel engine which is connected to drive a two-bank pump 20, one bank of which has a hydraulic output of 35 g.p.m. and supplies fluid to the hydraulic motor 18 through line 21 having a two-bank control valve 22, one bank of which controls fluid flow to the hydraulic motor 18.

Patented July 28, 1970 The vehicle frame has at its rear 23 a board bundle receiving area which may retain up to three bundles of boards 24. The board transfer and metering area 25, as best seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, comprises two runs of endless chains 26 which are driven at the vehicle front end by sprockets 27 secured to be rotated by shaft 28 driven by gear 29 and pinion 30 receiving its power from hydraulic motor 31 through line 32 controlled by valve handle 33 which is connected to the two-bank valve 22. The endless chain runs 26 are supported at their rear on idler sprockets 34 mounted on shafts 35.

Located at the front of the machine is the board distribution means 36 which is :a downwardly declined outwardly divergent pipe-like structure 37 having stop lips 38 at their leading end. These lips 38 arrest the boards which are slid down the ramp structure 37 where they remain and build up until workmen can remove the boards and place them upon the marsh.

OPERATION The vehicle 10 is moved by starting prime mover 19 which drives the two-bank pump 20, supplying hydraulic fluid to the two-bank valve 22 which supplies a variable quantity of fluid to the motor 18 which drives the wheels 11 and 12 through transmission 17, gear case 16 and differentials 15. By controlling the valve opening on the propulsion side of the two-bank valve 22, the over the ground speed of the vehicle is either increased or decreased.

The vehicle 10 is steered by regulating the positioning of valve 14 which receives fluid from the 8 g.p.m. side of the two-bank pump 20. Valve 14 operates the steering cylinder and ram 13 which are connected to the frame and wheels to cause the vehicle to either turn left or right depending upon the direction of entry of pressure fluid on either end of the cylinder 13.

The vehicle is then loaded at its rear or board stack receiving zone, best seen in FIG. 1, by a truck containing a number of bundles of boards and having an A-frame and winch to place the bundles upon the vehicle 10.

The board transfer means is then operated by regulating the lever 33 on the two-bank valve 22 to cause pressurized fluid to flow through line 32 to drive hydraulic motor 31 which, as best seen in FIG. 4, will drive the endless chains 26 causing boards resting thereon to be moved forwardly to the downwardly declining front ramp structure 37 where boards will engage the stop lips 38 and accumulate in sufficient quantity to supply the workmen placing same upon the ground. When sufiicient boards are on the ramp 37 the lever 33 moves the valve to the closed position stopping motion of the endless chains 26.

Multiple stacks or bundles of boards may be placed on the vehicle 10 at the board stack receiving zone 23 and the boards fed to the ramp 37 as needed.

The hydraulic system has been shown as single line for simplicity of illustration; however, those skilled in the art are aware that a supply and return line is used in practice and a sump or reservoir receives fluid either recycled or fed by the return line when it is bled o'ff incident to the other side being pressurized.

What is claimed is:

1. A board road laying machine comprising (a) a mobile self-propelled frame,

(b) a board stack receiving zone on said frame remote from the direction of travel of said frame,

(c) lboard transfer means on said frame positioned to engage boards in a stack and advance them toward the front of the machine, and

(d) board distribution means at the front of the machine having a forwardly declining outwardly diverging skid ramp with the high end positioned to receive boards from the discharge of said board trans- 4 fer means and having an upturned hook means at the 2,889,676 6/ 1959 Griifith. lower free end to restrain boards until they are 3,089,601 5/1963 Cheney et a1. 214-8332 XR removed.

References Cited ALBERT I MAKAY, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Us CL 1,097,006 5/1914 Darden 104-6 1046; 214-85 2,805,784 9/1957 Dokken 21483.36 

